Northern California Food Markets...

Ferry Building Marketplace, San Francisco

In an attempt to find Andante Artisan Cheeses, I stumbled across the Ferry Building Marketplace. Miette, Ciao Bella, Frog Hollow, Boccalone Salumeria, McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil amongst many other vendors. This is the first (and only) place we hit in San Francisco on our way up. While I probably would never shop here on a regular basis with these prices, it was perfect for a vacationer like myself.

I managed to get out of the Ferry Building with just a couple of packages of salami from Boccalone Salumeria (YUUUUMM!!), peaches from Frog Hollow (sweeeet!), Cocoa Nibs/Chocolate powder from Scharfenberger and macarons from Miette (crispy outside, chewy inside).

Oxbow Public Market, Napa

Another place I wanted to visit if there was time was the Hog Island Oyster Company in Tomales Bay. You could tour the area and visit the oyster farms. They also have a picnic area where you can actually enjoy the gooey bites of deliciousness (reserve ahead). Unfortunately, going out to Tomales Bay would have really interferred our plans of doing as little as possible. The next best thing was going out to the Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa. Turns out that the Founder/CEO was the Project Manager for the Ferry Building Marketplace.

I ended up with only 6 pcs...it was pretty pricey for what it was at $18 for an assortment, otherwise I would've done a dozen. Go on Tuesday or Wednesday from 5 - 7pm and you can them for a buck each!

After strolling around downtown Napa we decided to come back to the Oxbow (well, for one, our car was here) to have dinner at the Wine Merchant. They've got the best Tomato Soup outside of Europe - thick, chunky and NON creamy! Our barkeep referred us to Bistro Jeanty for a creamy tomato soup that's covered in puff pastry...anything in puff pastry can't be bad, right???

Sadly, I never did find Andante Artisan Cheese but that's just one more thing to anticipate for future trips!